"Holy shit," Reyna said as she let out a deep breath. Her hand moved to the notecards resting in her jacket pocket. "That is a large crowd."

"Huge," Octavian agreed, standing next to her. His tux didn't have a single wrinkle on it. His hair was freshly trimmed, and hair spray was used to keep his hair from moving anywhere. Reyna knew from experience that he was in his element.

As for her? Reyna wanted to throw up. She didn't want to be in front of a huge crowd. Why had she agreed to this in the first place? Reyna didn't give speeches. She didn't do interviews. A hand touched her shoulder.

"Hey. It's going to be fine," Octavian stated. Reyna nodded and took a deep breath. She glanced back out behind the curtain. Most of the crowd was seated. It looked like they were in some kind of concert venue. Or maybe a stadium. It had all become white noise during the trip there.

"Yeah," Reyna breathed, though she didn't believe it. The stage had a podium on it, which was good because she would be gripping it for dear life. "Nope. I can't do this."

Reyna turned away, but a strong hand grabbed her. Octavian spoke, "You will be fine, Reyna. Just focus on the speech and nothing else. Trust me. The crowd isn't going to remember if you stutter or stumble over your words. Everyone is here to celebrate Lupa."

The dagger twisted in Reyna's heart. Most of her wanted this speech to go well. It was to celebrate one of the greatest fighters in the world. Reyna's mentor. The woman who got her off the streets and changed her life for the better.

Who never told her about her mother.

Reyna took a deep breath, half from anxiety and the other from anger. She swallowed painfully and then nodded. Octavian smiled at her, "You'll be fine."

Reyna didn't have it in her to talk, so she just nodded. Her hand grabbed the notecards out of her pocket, and she examined it again. The words seemed to fly off of the card. She sighed and closed her eyes. This night had to go well.

But why should it?

Lupa lied to her. She hid the truth from her. Reyna ground her teeth as she thought about it. Lupa had known her mother for years and didn't say a damn word. But...

Octavian was right. It would feel better to not be bitter. To just let it all out.

But Reyna didn't know how to do that. She wanted to, but forgiveness seemed like it would never come. Why did Lupa deserve to be forgiven? Why couldn't Reyna just stew in her anger?

A deep sigh left Reyna, and she peeked out from the curtain again. Tables near the stage were reserved for those being honored and their closest guests. Their other guests had the first couple rows reserved for them. And behind that was what seemed to be a million rows for members of the public.

"I don't see an empty seat," Reyna began.

"It's a sold out house," Annabeth confirmed as she walked up behind Reyna. It took a moment for Reyna to look at her, and her jaw nearly dropped. Annabeth wore a gray dress that had no extra frills on it, but Annabeth didn't need it. She was gorgeous.

"Great," Reyna muttered as she looked back at Lupa's table. Hazel and Frank were already sitting at the table. Romy sat between them. Both of the men wore a suit, and Hazel had gotten into a dress with the assistance of Reyna and Annabeth.

Lupa's former fighters agreed to sit in the crowd, and Piper had joined them. They were still in the front row. And there were a lot more rows behind it. Reyna took a shaky breath and tried to calm herself.

"You'll do fine," Annabeth promised her. Reyna looked at her and tried to nod. Right behind Annabeth's head, Reyna saw someone talking to Jupiter. Wait.

"Is that Lupa?" Reyna asked. Annabeth turned, and she jumped like she had been shocked.

"It is," Annabeth confirmed. "But..."

"Take a photo. It's the last time you'll see this," Octavian commented. Reyna just stared at Lupa.

The woman was wearing... a dress.

The dress hung down near Lupa's knees and was a silver that caught the light from different angles, almost causing it to shine. She wore silver bangles around her wrists and a had a necklace on. Plus earrings. Her hair was freshly cut and curled back slightly at the tips. And she wore high heels?!

"Lupa's had that dress for years," Octavian commented. Reyna slowly back at him. Her gaze flickered back to the crowd. Octavian followed her line of sight. "So, there are five more being awarded before Lupa. None of the speeches have a time limit, but everyone had their speech run through an expert just to make it more concise."

"No one cares if you read off the card. Do whatever is comfortable," Octavian said.

"I'm going to vomit."

"You're not going to," Octavian assuaged. "Trust me when I say you are going to do great. The lights will be shining bright when you go out there, but that is when you do your best work. You will be fine."

While the words didn't utterly convince Reyna, she did find herself relaxing slightly. Her stomach didn't turn as much, and she nodded. Octavian gently clapped her shoulder, being careful not to wrinkle her suit.

"Come on, let's sit down," Octavian said.

Reyna stared at the curtain in front of her and felt her heart beating out of her chest. She barely heard the speech that the inductee came. She wasn't aware of him walking backstage, and it felt like she was having an out of body experience as she clapped respectfully with the rest of the small crowd.

Only a small part of her registered Jupiter walking out to introduce her as the final speaker.

Reyna needed to vomit again. Instead, she took a deep breath and walked out onto the stage. There was a cheer from the crowd. It wasn't anything too loud from each individual, but with the whole crowd, it felt ready to knock her over. And they were all looking at her.

Yup. She was going to vomit. Reyna swallowed painfully and stopped at the podium. She carefully grabbed the notecards out of her pocket and closed her eyes. After one more deep breath, she opened them and looked around. Reyna couldn't focus on the cameras on her or the crowd. Just the speech.

"Thank you Jupiter for the wonderful introduction," Reyna began. She stared at the notecard for a moment before looking back up. The tips from the speechwriter ran through her head. "And thank you to everyone for making the trip out here."

"There is a lot to say about Lupa," Reyna began. She clenched her fist tightly to keep herself calm. A bit of anger at Lupa boiled forth. Coupled with nerves. "And before anyone asks, I've heard the rumblings. No one can find the woman wearing jeans, but for once, Lupa is wearing a dress."

A small laugh left the crowd. Reyna could do this.

"On a serious note, Lupa is a woman of two lives," Reyna continued. "There is Lupa the fighter; one of the greatest fighters this world has ever seen. She had no equal during her career. There were some who tried to rise to the occasion. Some almost did. Others fell flat. But in the end, none of them were able to join Lupa on the mountaintop."

And I want to be just like her. With no equal.

"Lupa won a record number of fights for a fighter of any gender at the time, and when her record was surpassed years later by Arachne, Lupa celebrated the accomplishment. Lupa has also supported her opponents if she could. Never talking down to them. Other than the occasional trash talk of course."

"Lupa tore through her opponents and demanded better ones. She tried to get women trained at a time where most people only cared about watching men fight. Where they thought women should be eye candy. Lupa is a pioneer. One of the longest reigning men or women's champions."

After I defeat Annabeth, I am going to break that record.

"The video package earlier showed highlights of Lupa's fights. It showed her record, how many people she beat, and the best of those fights. But there is another side to Lupa. That second side: Lupa the person."

The person who knew my mother and didn't tell me.

"At the height of her career, an injury forced Lupa to step away. Some people would have fallen into a vice to feel those highs again. Others would have kept going and destroyed their body beyond repair. Lupa did not do that. She put all of her focus into finding fighting with potential and molding them into great fighters."

Like me.

"Lupa continued to make sure that women were more respected and that they had more opportunities than she did. She made sure that fighters had more protections than she did when she was fighting. While management eventually made those decisions, they were pushed along by the former fighters and trainers.

"But, Lupa doesn't just train fighters. She has numerous charities dedicated to helping underprivileged kids or helping those who didn't get a fair chance at life."

Or who got kicked out after getting into an argument with their sister.

"Everyone knows the story of how Lupa took me in and trained me. I'm not the only kid she has done that for. Most of them don't make the media, and Lupa won't like that I'm talking about them now."

Things used to be so good between us. Lupa took me in and treated me like one of her children. She raised me. Unlike my actual mother.

"Every week Lupa teaches self-defense classes for any kids who need it."

But she hid that from me. She lied to me. She knew my mother for years. But she hid that from me and didn't tell me.

"But I know that Lupa doesn't want me to go on and on about the good things that she has done for our city," Reyna said. "I've done enough talking. No one came here to see me. They came to hear Lupa give a speech. And also to take pictures of her wearing a dress."

Another laugh left the crowd, and Reyna relaxed her knuckles, "Without further ado, let me introduce my trainer."

The woman who taught me everything I know about fighting. Who taught me so much.

"My mentor."

I love her like a damn mother. She is a mother to me, but I can't forgive her. I want to forgive her. Things were so good between us. She was someone I could confide in. Talk to. We trained together.

And I miss that so much.

"Lupa."

A cheer rose up from the crowd, and Reyna took a step back from the podium, joining in the claps. She watched Lupa stand from the table and walked toward the stage. She walked up the stage and toward Reyna. Maybe she was caught up in the emotions of the day or the crowd, but as Lupa made it closer, Reyna pulled her into a hug.

Maybe Octavian is right. It would be better to let my anger out. Tell Lupa how I feel.

Lupa stiffened for a moment before hugging Reyna back tightly. After a few moments, they pulled away. Reyna spoke, "Congrats, Lupa."

"Thank you," Lupa said with a smile. "Your speech was great."

"Good luck with yours," Reyna whispered as she studied Lupa's eyes.

Maybe, it was time to forgive.